"I will look upon death or of comedy with the same expression of countenance." Seneca

Fernapple comments on Sep 15, 2022:

Bet he was fun at parties.

Fernapple replies on Sep 15, 2022:

@Beowulfsfriend That is what parties are for to test your Stoic credentials.

Release of more classified UFO videos will ‘harm national security’, US Navy spokesperson says...

Druvius comments on Sep 13, 2022:

Well, yeah, it would give hostile powers information about the capabilities of US imaging systems. Kind of a no brainer really.

Fernapple replies on Sep 13, 2022:

Or with good images, you may be able to spot the all too human pilots, aboard the all too experimental things that the Russians would love good shots of.

Just a thought about something that sometimes happens on this site, every now and again.

SnowyOwl comments on Sep 12, 2022:

Are you suggesting that the Religitards of the world would be so devious and underhanded as to misrepresent themselves and then misquote atheists and agnostics in order to further promote their religious dogma and vilify those who want nothing to do with such a cruel, hate filled and oppressive ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 13, 2022:

@SnowyOwl That's why I only raise it as a something to think about, in the back of the mind.

On the queen The UK has been transformed as planned into a world stage to demonstrate by acting ...

Marionville comments on Sep 13, 2022:

I’ve never been a royalist…but in the case of Queen Elizabeth she has proved to be a better head of state than any elected President or politician anywhere in the world. She has fulfilled her role and provided a reassuring constancy during seven decades of immense change at home and throughout ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 13, 2022:

The only real advantage I ever thought there was in monachy, is that complete jerks, like Johnson, and L. T., not to mention Blair, who only get elected because of chance anomilies of the voting system, don't get to call themselves president.

Our local village of Caistor has been putting on a floral display again this year.

FrayedBear comments on Sep 13, 2022:

I see that Caistor locals nearly 2000 years may have been involved in crucifying Simon the Zealot. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caistor

Fernapple replies on Sep 13, 2022:

@FrayedBear They probably did hang flowers out, especially to celebrate ridding themselves of a pest. There has always been an atitude problem in Lincolnshire.

Our local village of Caistor has been putting on a floral display again this year.

tinkercreek comments on Sep 13, 2022:

Wow, beautiful! - how long do the displays stay up?

Fernapple replies on Sep 13, 2022:

All summer.

Just a thought about something that sometimes happens on this site, every now and again.

Charles1971 comments on Sep 12, 2022:

Your premise is plausible though if these anti-atheist members are simply interested in disparaging us they can easily fabricate quotes and posts to spread to their little hate groups. Though, it's not as if these trolls are clever or smart.

Fernapple replies on Sep 12, 2022:

Yes though from their point of view, there is a lot more value in provoking actual quotes.

Just a thought about something that sometimes happens on this site, every now and again.

Flyingsaucesir comments on Sep 12, 2022:

It's certainly worth considering. We don't want to give ammunition to the opposition.

Fernapple replies on Sep 12, 2022:

It does not take much of a brain to think. "I think I will go troll the atheists. Bet my mates will love some of the replies."

Just a thought about something that sometimes happens on this site, every now and again.

AnneWimsey comments on Sep 12, 2022:

The "new members" that come to mind have in no way the intelligence, plannimg, or skills to do any such thing....IQ of 75, at best, and filled with free-floating anger.

Fernapple replies on Sep 12, 2022:

@Castlepaloma The idea of the quotes was to put the, "stupid" as the view of the troll, since most trolls probably do think of everyone else as stupid, even their friends, that is what makes them trolls to a degree.

Just a thought about something that sometimes happens on this site, every now and again.

SnowyOwl comments on Sep 12, 2022:

Are you suggesting that the Religitards of the world would be so devious and underhanded as to misrepresent themselves and then misquote atheists and agnostics in order to further promote their religious dogma and vilify those who want nothing to do with such a cruel, hate filled and oppressive ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 12, 2022:

Yes a lot of people are assuming that I am pushing a conspiracy theory, which could in fact happen. But as I said to Middleway above, I was thinking more of a low level, spontaneous cut and paste. "I went to agnostic.com and guess what one of them said ?" I think that it is perfectly possible, and indeed probably even common.

Just a thought about something that sometimes happens on this site, every now and again.

TheMiddleWay comments on Sep 12, 2022:

I think it's true in a "confirmation bias"/"self fulfilling prophecy" sense but not in a quote harvesting sense. By this I mean that if I want to prove that non-believers are assholes, I come onto an non-believer board and be an asshole myself thus eliciting asshole responses and thus I can walk ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 12, 2022:

That is very true, I am sure that it would be very rare to have it happen at an organized planned level, although at a low level, spontaneous cut and paste. "I went to agnostic.com and guess what one of them said ?" I think that it is perfectly possible, and indeed probably even common.

Just a thought about something that sometimes happens on this site, every now and again.

Spinliesel comments on Sep 12, 2022:

Goodness, I have missed ll of that drama. Who are you speaking of? Of course, since all my life I have been not paying attention to religious remarks, this may just be a continuation of my own way of dealing with stuff. Or my eyesight is failing so much that all the juicy bits are swimming by.

Fernapple replies on Sep 12, 2022:

You can miss a lot on this site, things disappear fast. A lot depends on what time of day you log on.

Just a thought about something that sometimes happens on this site, every now and again.

AnneWimsey comments on Sep 12, 2022:

The "new members" that come to mind have in no way the intelligence, plannimg, or skills to do any such thing....IQ of 75, at best, and filled with free-floating anger.

Fernapple replies on Sep 12, 2022:

Oh I am not sure about that, it does not take much planning to think. " Lets go troll the sceptics and see if I can get something that will impress my stupid mates."

Back to one of the old favourites from the deep past, I am sure it was all a lot more complicated ...

Robecology comments on Sep 12, 2022:

The gist of the article was "The whole picture of dinosaurs is backward. They're primarily cold-adapted animals." I read it..but I don't see it. I read about the geology and climate of those times... I read that most larger "dinosaurs" thrived in the extreme warmth I ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 12, 2022:

I agree it is not the best case I have seen put forward. But a lot of people now think that they may indeed all have had feathers, except for the very large ones, since bulk alone would be a warm adaption.

Allow children to choose religion and form world-views after growing up.

Krish55 comments on Sep 10, 2022:

Impossible to totally eliminate! All cultures must of necessity enculturate their young. The real question is how to do so. Some comments below shows a poor understanding of sociology, anthropology, social psychology, and developmental psychology. Critiques have to be based on facts, ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 11, 2022:

@Krish55 That's ok. You are welcome.

Allow children to choose religion and form world-views after growing up.

Krish55 comments on Sep 10, 2022:

Impossible to totally eliminate! All cultures must of necessity enculturate their young. The real question is how to do so. Some comments below shows a poor understanding of sociology, anthropology, social psychology, and developmental psychology. Critiques have to be based on facts, ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 11, 2022:

As you say. "All cultures must of necessity enculturate their young." That's what the post says, it does not say that you can or must do without it, only that it is a fact.

UK News Liz Truss, don't like her already.

Fernapple comments on Sep 10, 2022:

If you are a really cynical politician, with no conscience, then you look for a busy day to hide bad news. Mind you, I did not think that LT was that smart, maybe she just got lucky ?

Fernapple replies on Sep 11, 2022:

@puff Or mindlessly following her guru M. Thatcher, who was a right wing puppet of the capitalist institutions, but did at least have some talent, charisma and grasp. Which will kind of make it hard for L.T. to follow, that act.

The ahistorical claims of Christian Nationalists get me going.

Fernapple comments on Sep 10, 2022:

If they believe that Jesus still works within the material world, then it follows that, he has plans for everywhere all of the time. In which case, he does not seem to be any good at getting his plans to work.

Fernapple replies on Sep 10, 2022:

@phxbillcee Like father like son.

Charles III is the head of the Church of England.

Fernapple comments on Sep 10, 2022:

When the Founders established the constitution, they may well have intended that, not having a state religion would eventually lead to a secular nation. But thanks to the law of unintended consequences, what they did was to privatize religion, and make it a for profit business, thereby adding an ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 10, 2022:

@David1955 That's the one hope, monopolies tend to implode on themselves.

Frightening;

Fernapple comments on Sep 10, 2022:

The perfect couple, I would be a bit worried if they had babies though.

Fernapple replies on Sep 10, 2022:

@Alienbeing Pure Aryan bigot I would assume.

I don't know; what's your opinion.

Beowulfsfriend comments on Sep 9, 2022:

Possible both. On one trump meeting with the Queen, the Queen wore a broach gifted to her by Obama.

Fernapple replies on Sep 10, 2022:

She did have a great sense of humour its said.

Yes he's Xtian but I fully support him.

Apunzelle comments on Sep 8, 2022:

English degree here. I’ve used “they” as a gender-neutral pronoun for decades. I’m a writer for a large company, and it’s in our brand manual that “they” is preferred to “he/she.” It’s confusing to no one. Anyways, who cares about this fool? He’s just like a baker who ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 8, 2022:

@puff There, I hope that I annoy both of you equally. LOL

Yes he's Xtian but I fully support him.

Apunzelle comments on Sep 8, 2022:

English degree here. I’ve used “they” as a gender-neutral pronoun for decades. I’m a writer for a large company, and it’s in our brand manual that “they” is preferred to “he/she.” It’s confusing to no one. Anyways, who cares about this fool? He’s just like a baker who ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 8, 2022:

@puff "Good morning all." Would do quite well I think.

Yes he's Xtian but I fully support him.

Apunzelle comments on Sep 8, 2022:

English degree here. I’ve used “they” as a gender-neutral pronoun for decades. I’m a writer for a large company, and it’s in our brand manual that “they” is preferred to “he/she.” It’s confusing to no one. Anyways, who cares about this fool? He’s just like a baker who ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 8, 2022:

Should it not be: as a gender-neutral pronoun, and not "are".

A Stoic is someone who transforms fear into prudence, pain into transformation, mistakes into ...

zeuser comments on Sep 7, 2022:

My understanding of stoicism is somewhat different. I will explore further on my own.

Fernapple replies on Sep 8, 2022:

True. But to be fair, I think that he is talking about the popular usage of Stoic, not the original philosophic meaning.

I ran onto this article while trying to find out whether or not wizards were ever burned at the ...

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Sep 6, 2022:

From what I researched years ago, 75% of the people burned/hanged as witches were women and 75% of them were old women. Women, men, kids, and animals were put to death for practicing witchcraft. It is interesting to note, though, that Elizabeth I was close to John Dee--who was a part of her ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 One of the more revealing things about how social attitudes play into it. Is the word "Hag" meaning an old dirty and ugly female who is probably a witch. It originally derived from an old English word of several spellings but roughly "hagge", which originally meant the rough land just outside the village boundary but short of the wild forest, and also the people, of both sexes originally, who lived there. (It also gave us "hedge", which today means a living fence of shrubs, but which originally meant the outer fence of the village which, fenced of the hagge. ) Imagine the loneliness, the exclusion and the economic difficulties which are contained in that word.

I'm sure you all agree with this post.

Petter comments on Sep 7, 2022:

Being a happy, good looking, highly intelligent bloke, of course I agree.

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2022:

@Garban We are the only sort who seem to come to this site.

Is it just me?

Organist1 comments on Sep 7, 2022:

Unless the meal makes me violently ill on the spot, or the waiter throws the food in my face on purpose, or maybe if there's a dead rodent or Madagascar hissing cockroach in my soup, I can't think of a situation in which I wouldn't pay for a meal. Occasionally I have left a very small tip for ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2022:

In the UK the law says that, if you are unhappy with your meal or service, you should pay half the asked fee. Because you have used the seating and lighting etc. even if the meal or service was bad.

Is it just me?

Julie808 comments on Sep 7, 2022:

Oh my goodness, this question must have been asked in a large urban location for 22% to think it's okay not to pay the basic bill. I live in a small community, where everyone knows each other. There is no way anyone wanting to eat out again would ever stiff the restaurant, owners, staff, etc.,...

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2022:

In the UK the law says that, if you are unhappy with your meal or service, you should pay half the asked fee. Because you have used the seating and lighting etc. even if the meal or service was bad.

I ran onto this article while trying to find out whether or not wizards were ever burned at the ...

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Sep 6, 2022:

From what I researched years ago, 75% of the people burned/hanged as witches were women and 75% of them were old women. Women, men, kids, and animals were put to death for practicing witchcraft. It is interesting to note, though, that Elizabeth I was close to John Dee--who was a part of her ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 7, 2022:

@dalefvictor I remember reading a study done on witch trials many years ago. In which the author found that almost invariably, the first people accused of being witches by others, had previously asked the accuser, for what was then called an act of Christian charity, and had been refused. ("She asked to borrow my axe so that she could cut some wood because she was cold. I said no, and shortly after that the illness started." ) The accusation therefore almost always started with someone feeling guilty, about not giving reasonable aid to a reasonable request, and then blaming the victim. And who in a patriarchal society were most dependent on the charity of others, except of course old, often widowed, members of the legally and economically disadvantaged sex ?

Can Religion Without Belief “Make Perfect Sense”? | Mind Matters

Fernapple comments on Sep 6, 2022:

One common claim made by religious apologists is that, all of the harm coming from religion stems from a literal interpretation of it, and that it can be easily be redeemed by treating it as a metaphor. But sadly, whether religion is metaphorical or literal, is completely beside the point as to ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 6, 2022:

@David1955 I always define religion as. A synonym for the Proof By Authority fallacy. It matters not if that authority come from a god, or only from tradition, excessive respect for texts, institutions or teachers, it is still the same. And what you really have to ask is, who really needs to use proof by authority, good people with good ideas which are well supported by evidence and logic, or bad people with bad ideas which they can find no good justifications for if pressed ?

What's you favorite non domesticated animal? I'd have to go with the

Emanuele comments on Sep 4, 2022:

Beaver

Fernapple replies on Sep 5, 2022:

@FvckY0u You can go there too often, stroking beavers can prove very expensive.

Huh.

Krish55 comments on Sep 3, 2022:

Why does the senate need to discuss this if it was merely a block? I understand the later discussion if he is gone and we are concerned about him. I hope that speaking about him publicly didn't cause him to leave... Perhaps when we have an issue with someone, we can address that person ...

Fernapple replies on Sep 3, 2022:

Perhaps because the Community Senate is the one place a block does not work, and Matias will still be able to read what is here.

I thought this was an interesting nugget of information. The highest point on earth?

Beowulfsfriend comments on Sep 1, 2022:

Add Mauna Loa in Hawaii, as from its base on the seafloor it rises some 33000 feet.

Fernapple replies on Sep 1, 2022:

Tallest mountain.

Never have I ever..

Sgt_Spanky comments on Sep 1, 2022:

I have never run the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl, played lead guitar in a classic rock band, or made any significant discoveries in science. I'm freakin' useless. :(

Fernapple replies on Sep 1, 2022:

That makes two of us. Maybe we should form a club for useless people, who like to hang out on the internet exchanging anti-religious thoughts, when we have nothing better to do, we could call it something like Agnostic.com.

More on my favourite thinker, and the inspiration behind the biggest challenge early Christianity ...

Garban comments on Aug 31, 2022:

Horace on Epicurus :

Fernapple replies on Aug 31, 2022:

Some people say that it is a slander on the Epicurans, since Epicurus himself certainly lived a very plain life and so did his early followers and the ideal was certainly one of moderate austerity. Yet there may have been many, especially later followers, who did not. On the other hand Horace could well be being ironic. At this distance who knows, it is an interesting puzzle inside a conundrum.

There's nothing wrong with an early start to perfecting one's craft.

Unity comments on Aug 30, 2022:

"Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat?....." ~Parliament Funkadelic~

Fernapple replies on Aug 31, 2022:

@Unity Ah, no sorry I do not know the song.

There's nothing wrong with an early start to perfecting one's craft.

Unity comments on Aug 30, 2022:

"Why must I feel like that? Why must I chase the cat?....." ~Parliament Funkadelic~

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2022:

He's trying to make a pun. The baby is tying to get his hands on some pussy. Yes it made me groan too when I worked it out.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Aug 29, 2022:

My simplified definition of religion: belief in something in the absence of any independently-verifiable evidence.

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2022:

@Flyingsaucesir It does indeed.

Since the word "Evil" seem to be used in many different forms.

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2022:

There is no such thing as an absolute evil, there is merely a spectrum of good an bad things, with no dividing lines and most things being in the middle. (The bell curve.) If we like to give the most extreme end of the spectrum a special term, such as, evil. Then well and good, but the big danger ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2022:

@Betty, @Barnie2years No I am just a dumb ass redneck.

Since the word "Evil" seem to be used in many different forms.

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2022:

There is no such thing as an absolute evil, there is merely a spectrum of good an bad things, with no dividing lines and most things being in the middle. (The bell curve.) If we like to give the most extreme end of the spectrum a special term, such as, evil. Then well and good, but the big danger ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2022:

@Betty That is very true. Interestingly, Plato wrote about that same thing nearly twenty five centuries ago.

My fellow evil heathens are going to ruin the world.

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2022:

Yes, but can we drink sixteen cans of beer without falling over ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 30, 2022:

@LenHazell53 The wisest of men know that everything useful is done layed down.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

Flyingsaucesir comments on Aug 29, 2022:

My simplified definition of religion: belief in something in the absence of any independently-verifiable evidence.

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

That is in part my point. But belief in something without any evidence, could be honest belief or superstition. The point of my definition, is that what makes religion different from those two, is fake evidence or claims to justfy it by appeal to fake authority.

Since the word "Evil" seem to be used in many different forms.

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2022:

There is no such thing as an absolute evil, there is merely a spectrum of good an bad things, with no dividing lines and most things being in the middle. (The bell curve.) If we like to give the most extreme end of the spectrum a special term, such as, evil. Then well and good, but the big danger ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

@Betty My main point is I tend to avoid using it at all, because I do not think it is a good word. But if I did it would mean very bad things, but with a very fuzzy edge.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

KateOahu comments on Aug 29, 2022:

I think the word “organized” belongs somewhere in the definition of “religion”. Otherwise, I would simply call it unfounded belief, which religion IS, but not only that.

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

@Julie808 Yes that is about it. But there could be appeals to other sources of false authority such as tradition, or a literal god, not just text. My point being that it is the use of fake evidence or proof from authorities, which makes religion different from mere beliefs, such as superstision which is unsupported, and honest belief, which honestly admits it has no support.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

KateOahu comments on Aug 29, 2022:

I think the word “organized” belongs somewhere in the definition of “religion”. Otherwise, I would simply call it unfounded belief, which religion IS, but not only that.

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

Yes true, Julie808 below made much the same point. But I think that misses my point a bit, which was that there is a difference between unfounded belief, which you could sometimes call, honest belief, and religion. In that honest belief, admits that it is unfounded which is what makes it honest. As in, I may say that I believe that it is our duty to care for the environment, while someone else could say f##k the environment lets have a good time and be the last generation on earth, and we could both agree that we could not prove our belief and agree to differ. ( Actually I could prove mine. ) But what makes it religion, and not honest belief, is the attempt to support that unfounded belief with fake authority, whether it be the authority of a divine god, the supernatural wisdom of prophets, tradition, ritual or exagerated respect for writen text over other sources.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

DenoPenno comments on Aug 29, 2022:

I go with Mark Twain's idea that it is believing something you know is not so. A bit out of context here but it works.

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

That is actually pretty close to the same thing.

Since the word "Evil" seem to be used in many different forms.

Fernapple comments on Aug 29, 2022:

There is no such thing as an absolute evil, there is merely a spectrum of good an bad things, with no dividing lines and most things being in the middle. (The bell curve.) If we like to give the most extreme end of the spectrum a special term, such as, evil. Then well and good, but the big danger ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

@Betty I would consider evil to be the most extreme of bad things, the point being that a hard and fixed definition would be, and is itself, an evil generally.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

Julie808 comments on Aug 28, 2022:

I prefer to define religion and mythology separately. I realize it's not the common way to view spirituality, but it's the way I think about things. For me, religion is my feeling of connection to the source of creation and all that supports my being, physically, and what I understand to be ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 29, 2022:

Really good definition, thank you. My definition is of course mainly for established organized religion and not so generalized as yours. I like the metaphor of glasses, that is very clever.

I and went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor yesterday, the birthplace and home of the scientist Isaac ...

OldGoat43 comments on Aug 28, 2022:

It must have been difficult to heat such a large home with wood as it was back then. I live in central Pennsylvania which seems to have a similar climate as your region but it is coal country here. The things to explore are mostly Civil War exhibits or natural wonders. Thanks for sharing your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

@OldGoat43 The Newtons probably had servants and tennants etc. I think that the house was only used by him for much of the time. He was an only child, and shortly after his father died, his mother remarried and left to live with her new husband, leaving only Isaac and his grandmother in the house, since Isaac and her new husband, a vicar of course, did not get on.

Older and more beautiful than a pyramid ?

Robecology comments on Aug 28, 2022:

Wow...Did you actually visit there?

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

No, its on the bucket list though.

There are it is said as many different definitions of what the word “Religion” means, as there ...

racocn8 comments on Aug 28, 2022:

Fealty to memes in the hope of gaining special favors. (Superstition) I note your substitution of 'argument by authority' with 'proof by authority'. For religionists, I'm not sure either are really appropriate, and that it might be better with 'persuasion by authority' or 'conversion by ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

Both argument from authority and proof by authority have existed for a long time. I just chose proof because those within a faith, would not admit to it being merely an argument.

I and went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor yesterday, the birthplace and home of the scientist Isaac ...

OldGoat43 comments on Aug 28, 2022:

It must have been difficult to heat such a large home with wood as it was back then. I live in central Pennsylvania which seems to have a similar climate as your region but it is coal country here. The things to explore are mostly Civil War exhibits or natural wonders. Thanks for sharing your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

Yes but they probably only paid the wood cutter in food and beer.

I and went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor yesterday, the birthplace and home of the scientist Isaac ...

Lorajay comments on Aug 28, 2022:

Thank you so much for sharing your photos. I too am full of envy. Do you know the symbolism of what appears to be two Ss above the front door?

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

Yes, they are not actually symbols, they are spreader plates. With very old stone and brick houses, sometimes the walls start to sag and bulge, over time. In the old days it was a common practice to put an iron rod through the building, with plates on each end, in various shapes sometimes "S" sometimes round or square. The nuts on the ends of the rods were then tightened, and often the rods were heated so that they expanded, when they cooled and shrank they pulled the wall back in. The "S" shape are probably early ones made by a village blacksmith, round cast ones are most likely later. It shows that the building had centuries of decay and care, what in Japan they call a "Golden repair", meaning it actually makes things even more beautiful.

I and went to visit Woolsthorpe Manor yesterday, the birthplace and home of the scientist Isaac ...

Marionville comments on Aug 28, 2022:

Understated, traditionally is the British way…although creeping “Disneyfication” has turned many of our heritage sites into theme parks sad to say!

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

Its National Trust and they can be a bit Disney sometimes, but not too bad here, though a film biography they were showing on a loop, did make me wince and leave that room. They were not to bureaucratic either which is also the British way, especially the National Trust way.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 28, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Although it has to be said that both being possibly, and it has been well argued, borderline autistic, Newton especially. They would probably both have been excluded completely from education today, except at the most basic level, and only succeeded because they lived in more tolerant ages. Although the real lose to the world was Henry Cavendish, whose discoveries were mostly all lost and, far later, rediscovered and credited to others. Including, the effects of tidal friction on the earth's rotation, Ohm's law, Dalton's law of partial pressure, Richters Law, Charle's Law of Gases many of the modern understandings of electrical conductivity and much more were all lost because his mental illness prevented him from taking part in the academic life of his time.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Darwin had a minor degree in theology only, he failed medicine, but never published any papers in peer reviewed journals, since like many then, he regarded openly published popular books as more serious. Peer reviewed journals did not exist in Newton's day, and he published only in books, and then only when he was forced and encouraged.

This is just too good not to share.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

I didn't have time to watch more than the opening of the video, but geez, of course dragons existed! So did unicorns, behemoths, leviathans, and talking asses (donkeys and people).

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Yes it was actualy Tolkien who introduced C. S. Lewis to the idea of returning to the Catholic faith. Sad but true. And then of course you get the shallow and stupid Christian allegory of Narnia, which really does bludgeon you.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Thatr is kind of sad in some ways if you think about it. Because neither I. Newton, nor C. Darwin would get published today.

This is just too good not to share.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

I didn't have time to watch more than the opening of the video, but geez, of course dragons existed! So did unicorns, behemoths, leviathans, and talking asses (donkeys and people).

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Well at LOTR does have a logical plot, so I always thought that it must be a much better authority than the Buybabble, but I always thought that I was alone in that.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 Hardy anyone reads articles in peer reviewed journals, great to check your article but if you think it is important, and you actualy want some people to read it, then you may look for another place to publish.

This is just too good not to share.

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

I didn't have time to watch more than the opening of the video, but geez, of course dragons existed! So did unicorns, behemoths, leviathans, and talking asses (donkeys and people).

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

If it says so in the only book he ever read, then it must be so.

Where can one submit, have peer-reviewed and published articles about living life?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 27, 2022:

Academic journals are the only works of which I am aware who have peer-review panels. Submissions need to be thoroughly researched and the analyses/conclusions need to be supported by the research. There might be other types of peer reviewed journals, but I am not aware of them. What is your ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

Maybe he has already got the peer reviews, he just wants to know where he can put them on this site. Which is kind of not good because the longer articles pages have now gone.

Okay, I just joined atheistuniverse.

BitFlipper comments on Aug 25, 2022:

I just joined too, but I didn't get a chance to choose a pseudonym.

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

Seems that you can just change your name for anything you like in your profile, when you are up and running. It worked for me anyway.

This is just too good not to share.

Garban comments on Aug 27, 2022:

If dragon eggs weren’t so delicious they wouldn’t be extinct today. 😕

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

True like the giant trotoise, in the Anthropocene it pays not to be tasty or well dressed.

I signed up at atheistuniverse.

Fernapple comments on Aug 27, 2022:

You could try FvckMe ? It may work.

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

@Petter So what. This is the internet, where everybody expects to be fvcked, at least metaphorically every day.

What's up with camouflage pickup trucks?

RichCC comments on Aug 27, 2022:

That's a good question. Back in the 70s I read a story that they said tested common vehicle colors for visibility. Their number 1 choice was day-glow yellow. The number 2 was bright white. On the off chance you don't know where your truck is, it helps to be able to see it. 😋 BTW... snow isn't a ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

In the UK grey has for a long time been the most popular car colour, which has to be the worst possible choice, since it is effectively camouflage against tarmac roads, and about the lowest possible visibility. I have long thought that the govenment would stop a lot of crashes if they just made bright yellow or orange the only legal colours, and what would be the cost, since who cares except the truly vain, what colour their car is.

I finally got a day off, and it was warm and sunny so I went for a cycle ride, part of which took me...

Robecology comments on Aug 26, 2022:

The old stone bridge (in the Viking ship art image) is a marvel of construction!

Fernapple replies on Aug 27, 2022:

Yes it carried the road over the railway line, and it still carries the road , though the railway is no longer there.

I finally got a day off, and it was warm and sunny so I went for a cycle ride, part of which took me...

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 26, 2022:

I would love to visit Britain one day! I want to see Stonehenge (of course), but also Newgrange and churches where the Green Man's images are displayed.

Fernapple replies on Aug 26, 2022:

That's a good list, nearly everybody heads for London, but that is not really the UK, its in many ways just another international capital like all the rest. Nice but not the UK. You can also amuse yourself by counting empty disused and reused churches, we don't have many left now in full use.

Okay, I just joined atheistuniverse.

Fernapple comments on Aug 26, 2022:

By the way, what name do you use on that site ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 26, 2022:

@Alienbeing Dhoe ! Me not reading carefully again. Actually read it yesterday, then came back and made the comment today without reading it again.

It is such common knowledge; it is taught at primary (elementary) schools in the UK, yet it ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 26, 2022:

Yep, saw it last night, a great documentary.

Fernapple replies on Aug 26, 2022:

@Ryo1 Tis, in it. The most profound of all Britishisms.

The Babble is the word of God

Fernapple comments on Aug 24, 2022:

Have you got her phone number ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 25, 2022:

@St-Sinner Thanks anyway, that's good same area code as me !!!

Atheists are nicer to Christians compared to the other way around if their religious identity is ...

ToakReon comments on Aug 24, 2022:

Christianity has, as one of its foundations, the 'Faith equals Virtue' concept. That faith in god fundamentally makes you a more virtuous (better, more moral, more noble) person - even for those christians whose actual actions demonstrate their lack of virtue, nobility or decency. This ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2022:

And it also inevitably attracted arrogant narcissists to join up.

Atheists are nicer to Christians compared to the other way around if their religious identity is ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 23, 2022:

Well we don't have a lecture every Sunday on how important the congregation is, and how superior they are to everyone else, for one.

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin Right on.

Atheists are nicer to Christians compared to the other way around if their religious identity is ...

Fernapple comments on Aug 23, 2022:

Well we don't have a lecture every Sunday on how important the congregation is, and how superior they are to everyone else, for one.

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2022:

@TomMcGiverin And so modest too. But better honest than modest.

I pose a broad question. What is a god?

anglophone comments on Aug 23, 2022:

A dyslexic dog.

Fernapple replies on Aug 24, 2022:

The old ones are always the best.

This is not about music or religion.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

As long as you don't mind the dusting, you can fill the house if you wish. Its your house.

Fernapple replies on Aug 23, 2022:

@FrayedBear This is England we don't have opening windows, well only tiny ones.

This is not about music or religion.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

As long as you don't mind the dusting, you can fill the house if you wish. Its your house.

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2022:

@Spinliesel I use a vac.

This is not about music or religion.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

As long as you don't mind the dusting, you can fill the house if you wish. Its your house.

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2022:

@FrayedBear My next big job is getting rid of the clutter I just inherited from my parents, the house is now full, and its a long way from the minimilism I like.

This is not about music or religion.

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

As long as you don't mind the dusting, you can fill the house if you wish. Its your house.

Fernapple replies on Aug 22, 2022:

@FrayedBear Well done.

Ever notice people do not “find God “when they are happy?

DenoPenno comments on Aug 21, 2022:

When people find Jesus in prison it relates to their past childhood upbringing.

Fernapple replies on Aug 21, 2022:

Sometimes its just bordom, and the wish to impress the parole board.

Why does this site keep changing the single letter "k" to "think"? What does it "think" it is doing?

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

k Works for me, on Windows 10.

Fernapple replies on Aug 21, 2022:

@anglophone Perhaps yes.

Why does this site keep changing the single letter "k" to "think"? What does it "think" it is doing?

Fernapple comments on Aug 21, 2022:

k Works for me, on Windows 10.

Fernapple replies on Aug 21, 2022:

@anglophone Will do. h i j k l m Hey now I see it, that is fun annoying but fun. There have always been quirks with the spell checker on this site, I think that you can switch the spell check on and off in your settings, that could be worth a try.

I don't hate the human species.

Fernapple comments on Aug 20, 2022:

Oh. I love to watch an attractive member of the opposite sex, breath in and out. But maybe I am just funny that way, do you think I should see a therapist ?

Fernapple replies on Aug 20, 2022:

@resserts Good point. I could sit on the couch .... Sorry I have to go google therapists in my area.

Sorry this is a bit long.

puff comments on Aug 18, 2022:

I think those that lack empathy and compassion recognise in themselves they have this flaw. They do want to fit in and be like everyone else so they search for answers about themselves. Which brings us to the question; "What organisations profess to be experts in empathy?' The answer, of course,...

Fernapple replies on Aug 19, 2022:

Well said.

Several people asked me to enlarge on my previous post, [agnostic.

Betty comments on Aug 18, 2022:

I enjoyed this. It fits with my lifestyle and choices. :) Thank you. More please. :)

Fernapple replies on Aug 19, 2022:

Thank you.

Is 54 too old to consider a career change?

Fernapple comments on Aug 18, 2022:

Getting older may one day force a career change on to you. Therefore why not make it now and your own choice. I started a major new hobby at sixty four, and am now looking for my next new career adventure at sixty six.

Fernapple replies on Aug 18, 2022:

@Garban Its twenty years ago now, but thank you.

Is 54 too old to consider a career change?

Fernapple comments on Aug 18, 2022:

Getting older may one day force a career change on to you. Therefore why not make it now and your own choice. I started a major new hobby at sixty four, and am now looking for my next new career adventure at sixty six.

Fernapple replies on Aug 18, 2022:

@Garban I was not really thinking of people forcing you out, but of the inevitable point when health forces a change of direction. Therefore change now while you still have that. Health can let anyone down at almost any time, but just more likely as we get older. My own experience tells me that, I lost my wife to a brain bleed thanks to an undiscovered tumor, when we had only been married three and a half months and we were still planning our futures.

Texas district pulls the Bible, Anne Frank adaptation as schools face more book backlash

Fernapple comments on Aug 17, 2022:

Sorry, it sound interesting but the link does not work in Europe.

Fernapple replies on Aug 17, 2022:

@TheMiddleWay Will try.

Several people asked me to enlarge on my previous post, [agnostic.

racocn8 comments on Aug 17, 2022:

I like the proposal that one may infer that the lack of evidence for a god means that it does not want worship nor even to be acknowledged. That makes much more sense than religionist claims that an god deserves and should be worshiped which confers the worst egomaniac human traits onto an entity ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 17, 2022:

That is it exactly.

"Those who work hard chasing more wealth than they need, make themselves slaves to themselves.

Marionville comments on Aug 17, 2022:

…”and’ a typo for “than” I think….!

Fernapple replies on Aug 17, 2022:

Thank you, will correct.

The FBI is asshoe

anglophone comments on Aug 17, 2022:

Is an asshoe a whore that specialises in anal?

Fernapple replies on Aug 17, 2022:

@FvckY0u Good try, but see above.

My personal contribution to good faith communication is a graceful exit.

FvckY0u comments on Aug 15, 2022:

I'd recommend you start not giving a fuck. Most people are wrong most of the time anyway. That includes you, me and everyone else. Shit, I'm probably wrong in what I'm posting right now. I'm just trying to spur some thought and possibly internal insight. Yet no one probably gives a fuck nor do ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 16, 2022:

Brilliantly put. Does not leave anything left for anyone else to say, but I don't g.a.f.

Salvation/Liberation as Human Transformation “The great post-axial traditions, as we have ...

KateOahu comments on Aug 15, 2022:

And yet, DO these beliefs effect “…the transformation of human existence from self-centredness to Reality-centredness.” I say my observation is “no”, that in fact, religious belief causes more sense of superiority over others than anything else.

Fernapple replies on Aug 16, 2022:

Sorry Kathleen but this is a bit of a long one. The great failing of religion is that it can never lead people away from being self centred and into enlightenment, because it is in essence itself just narcissism organized, all about the self, and the arrogant feelings of self importance. Just read the text in the passage above, which claims, to show religions selfless enlightenment. Here you go paragraph two. "self-committing faith in Christ as one’s lord and saviour; or by the total submission to God which is Islam; or by faithful obedience to the Torah; or by transcendence of the ego, with its self-centred desires and cravings, to attain moksha or Nirvana. " Everything it talks about is "Self -committing", "total submission" or "faithful obedience" it is all about things that you do to gain contact or take part in something greater than that which nature gives. Even Nirvana is about a, greater, death, something to attain because you get to be somewhere and someone special. Yet it is a strange sort of selflessness is it not, to try and escape the narcissistic self, but only by losing your self in something bigger, or to be valued by something greater. That is just a true aggrandisement of the narcissist by proxy. And there are good reasons for that. Not least because truly enlightened and selfless people are not needy, they do not have any use for religion or anything else, only narcissists are needy, so religion must promote narcissism to survive. It offers the pretend carrot of enlightenment, (Hell, guilt and sin, are the stick.) but like the donkey in the story, the follower of religion can never be given it, it must always dangle just a little distance away, to keep them coming back. And they do, again and again, each new sniff of pseudo-enlightenment and wisdom satisfies for a while, but then they must go back again for another fix. The only true selfless enlightenment is secular nihilism, and that was what a lot of the religious thinkers of the ancient world, Jesus, Mohamed, the Buddha were perhaps striving towards, and perhaps some, such as the Buddha almost got there. Though they could not finally reach it, or express it successfully, not because they were stupid, but because they did not then have the understanding and language to express it, that we have today, only the language of religion, which simply was not up to the task.

Are you an empath?

Fernapple comments on Aug 15, 2022:

It would be wise to remember that this is made by a person who has stuff to sell, it is therefore very unlikely that there is anyone who will not get a high score in the test. And if you read it cynically, a lot of the questions are such that you have to ask yourself, would anybody give the ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 15, 2022:

@FvckY0u No I am pretty cynical all the time, it is the way I think. I am also a bit of a nihilist too. But I always say that I am a happy cynic and nihilist, because I work on the old idea that if you expect little, you wont be disappointed, and people always do exceed expectations. As to the test. Well the first thing that I always ask when shown a form or list of questions, is. Does this person have a agenda ? I remember when I was about twelve seeing a test for "artistic" skills, at which I did very well, then I discovered that it came from a company selling art courses and matterials. So I passed it round and it turned out nearly everyone I knew was an artistic genius . LOL

Are you an empath?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 15, 2022:

This is BS. My pagan friends think that they are "empaths," but they are just sensitive to the feelings of others: they don't actually "feel" what others are feeling. However, I don't need to take the quiz to know that I would be considered an empath. There have been numerous times when I have ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 15, 2022:

@Gwendolyn2018 No. I was talking generally, not about you in particular, I always took you for an empathic person. Mind you, if you did not sense that, then........? LOL But quite, the clueless always do think that they are very good at it, obviously your experience confirms my theory.

Are you an empath?

Gwendolyn2018 comments on Aug 15, 2022:

This is BS. My pagan friends think that they are "empaths," but they are just sensitive to the feelings of others: they don't actually "feel" what others are feeling. However, I don't need to take the quiz to know that I would be considered an empath. There have been numerous times when I have ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 15, 2022:

It may be that there is something like the Dunning-Kruger effect at work. The people who think they have the greatest empathy, often have the least.

Why religion without belief can still make perfect sense | Psyche Ideas

Fernapple comments on Aug 15, 2022:

From a negative view, it changes nothing. All of the evils of religion always stemmed from the exaggerated respect given to its cultural traditions, holy writings, hierarchical structures and rituals. If you take the literal belief in the non existent god, out of the equation, you take away a zero, ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 15, 2022:

@Lorajay The dangers in trying to negate the crazies, by example from within, are manifold. Firstly that having moderates within religion tends to normalize it all, and make it seem respectable, which helps the crazies to justify it to themselves and others. Secondly it creates and recruiting ground and a retreat for them, even if the moderates don't intend that. Thirdly they may win and force the moderates into, leave or join us. ( Which is happening. ) Four, it still justifies anti-intellectual and anti-reason thinking, while setting low moral standards.

If only people would stick to basics, and perhaps start with something like this.

MizJ comments on Aug 14, 2022:

Nullius in verba, the motto of the Royal Society, so important some scientists have it as a tattoo.

Fernapple replies on Aug 14, 2022:

Exact opposite of the proof by authority fallacy. ( Sometimes known as religion.)

If only people would stick to basics, and perhaps start with something like this.

phoenixone1 comments on Aug 14, 2022:

The average person does not read "The New England Journal of Medicine" or "The Harvard Law Review" or any other of the vast repositories of knowledge that this countries best scientific and legal minds contribute to. Granted, being able to understand these articles require someone to be "smarter ...

Fernapple replies on Aug 14, 2022:

Nice rant.